Santa Cruz, CA, May 4, 2017 (Newswire.com) - Patricia Mince, from Santa Cruz, CA, has opened the city's third sushi restaurant. However, this is a sushi restaurant with a difference because she only serves sushi. One of the sushi restaurants in the area is also a steakhouse, while another restaurant offers general Asian cuisine. Patricia feels that she is offering something different, therefore, not just in terms of being the first sushi-only restaurant, but also in terms of being the first woman of American origin to open such a restaurant.
Patricia Mince says: "I have loved sushi since I was young, when I lived in Japan for a number of years with my parents. Food has always been a passion, and I knew that I wanted to bring a taste of my two lives — the one I had in Japan and the one I had in my own city of Santa Cruz — together. I'm very excited about the restaurant and the first few weeks have been brilliant!"
Patricia finished high school in Japan and decided to train as an itamae for the remaining years of her time there. Knowing that her father's contract was only up for another two years, after which they would return to Santa Cruz, she took the opportunity to learn the art of being a Traditional Japanese Sushi Chef
"In today's fast-paced world, Sushi can be a quick business lunch or a romantic dinner for two, with as varying an effect on the wallet. Popular as always in Japan, Sushi has gained a foothold in the U.S. along with much of the modern world. With roots tracing back to Japan's Nara period, the art of Sushi has evolved into a diverse and multi-faceted industry, without losing touch with its traditional form. Largely responsible for Sushi's modern success, as well as the almost mystical preservation of ancient Sushi etiquette and technique, are the traditional heads of the Japanese kitchen, the itamae."
Interestingly, Patricia Mince was also inspired by the television show ‘Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares,’ in which world-renowned British chef Gordon Ramsay visits struggling restaurants and then helps them turn their fortune around. She says: "I watched one episode in which a sushi restaurant was struggling, and I got a lot of advice from that episode. I learned what works and what doesn't work and what I could do to turn my restaurant into a success."
The episode Patricia Mince is referring to is about the restaurant Sushi Ko, which, unfortunately, did close.
"After four years of being at The Lakes in Thousand, Oaks Sushi Ko has shut its doors. We have all tried so hard from the beginning and put in so much effort but it just never worked out. It feels as if we have somewhat lost a part of ourselves, and it is a bitter/sweet ending."
However, there were various reasons as to why the restaurant was not able to keep its doors open, despite Ramsay's help, one of them being the tremendous debt the family was burdened with. Patricia Mince is starting fresh, and has taken the lessons learned from that particular episode to ensure she will not make the same mistakes.
She adds: "When I saw the Sushi Ko episode, I wanted to go there and learn from them, particularly the itamae. Unfortunately, they were unable to keep afloat, which must have been devastating to them. I hope they take some solace in the fact that they have inspired someone else to open a similar style restaurant, and there will always be a table available to them at my restaurant."
The new sushi restaurant is already creating quite a buzz in Santa Cruz, CA, and business is looking good.
Source: Patricia Mince
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